


Leader of a Pack

by MidnightCreator



Series: Paladin Pack [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Episode: s02e06 The Ark of Taujeer, Gen, I still have no clue how to tag properly, Kellan-centric, Kit is a bit insecure, episode rewrite, if anyone has tips I would like to hear them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 11:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10216889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightCreator/pseuds/MidnightCreator
Summary: Kellan does what he can to watch over his siblings and the Voltron crew. Despite his sister being hundred of miles away and a his brother very unhappy with three of their pack mates running off in the middle of the night.





	

“Kell, why is the door locked?”

 

“It’s not locked.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Kellan’s ears flattened slightly, “It’s stuck.”

 

There were a few moments of silence as the statement hung in the air, then a low, barely held back snort.

 

“It’s not funny Lance!” Nekko barked.

 

Lance snickered, clearly trying to keep himself under control, “It’s a little funny.”

 

Kit laughed, loud and hard, not even trying to contain her amusement, “You got…haha…oh man. Okay, sit tight and I’ll go find someone to open it up. Lance, keep them company.”

 

“Will do.”

 

Kit’s footsteps moved farther away, her laughter still echoing in the hall. Kellan sighed and leaned against the wall next to the door, settling in for a however long wait. Nekko stood and started to pace the room, tail tip flicking.

 

“So…how’s life?”

 

Kellan couldn’t help smirking a bit at Lance’s question, “Oh, you know. Getting locked in a bedroom in the middle of a firefight and waiting for rescue like a Hybrid pup stuck in a tree.”

 

“Hey! That was only one time!” Nekko glared at Kellan, who chuckled.

 

“Yes, because you started taking rope with you when ever you went climbing after that.”

 

Lance laughed from the other side of the door, “Nekko got stuck in a tree?”

 

“Again, only one time,” Nekko huffed and crossed his arms. “And that is all you need to know.”

 

“Awww, but I want to hear baby Nekko stories,” Lance cried dramatically. “Kellan, please tell me more.”

 

“Sure, just as soon as I’m not locked in a room with him,” Kellan grinned at Nekko, who huffed and glared in response.

 

“I’ll still know when you’re talking about me behind my back.”

 

Kellan shrugged and Lance laughed again, “You two are hilarious.”

 

“We try,” Kellan said. “So, how did we manage to get away? I thought the wormhole generator thing was broken.”

 

“Dude,” Lance groaned and a muffled thumped told Kellan the human had likely flopped over. “It was terrifying! Coran had me hanging upside down in the thing and holding some funky cookies Hunk was trying to make and if anyone so much as twitched wrong we all would have died!”

 

“…wha-”

 

“Why would any of you do that?!” Nekko yelled, running to the door and banging a fist on it. “I may not know a lot about the tello-wormhole thing but I know you shouldn’t get inside the thing when it’s turned on!”

 

“And we are never doing it again,” Lance stated. “That was the most terrifying thing I have _ever_ done in my _life!_ ”

 

“If you do it again I will lock you in here!”

 

“Haha.”

 

Kellan snorted, “He’s not joking Lance.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really,” Kell nodded.

 

“Dang, you take protecting the pack to a whole new level squirt.”

 

“I am taller _and_ older than you Lance. You can’t use that nickname!” Nekko growled. Kellan laughed, feeling the tinge of humor in his brother’s voice despite the growl.

 

“Aw, but it suits you so well!”

 

“No, nope,” Nekko shook his head and flattened his ears. “Bad enough Kit calls me that all the time.”

 

Kellan smiled as he listened to Lance and Nekko bickerer, “You two are ridiculous.”

 

\---------------------------

 

Eventually, Hunk came around and managed to un-stick the door. Apparently, the mechanisms in it had locked up when Coran and Pidge had started diverting power to the teludav. He opened it with a guarantee that it would not lock up again but it didn’t stop Nekko from wedging the door open with one of the speakers Coran had put in the room.

 

With that obstacle taken care of, Lance had immediately crawled into his spot, right in the middle of their nest and passed out only seconds after he settled. Nekko had run off to the kitchen to get himself a drink, and that left Kell and Kit sitting in the room.

 

Kell turned to his sister, jaw set, “What’s wrong?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“You’ve been quite, really quite. And you’re thinking about ‘what if’s’ again.”

 

Kit sighed, “You can’t deny it’s a possibility. Allura and Keith think it’s one of them but I am the most likely to have been tagged with something.”

 

“Or maybe it’s Shiro’s arm,” Kellan countered. “Or the Black Lion, or the energy signature from the Castle, or maybe Nekko and I were implanted with something. It could be almost anything Kit, you shouldn’t tear yourself up over it.”

 

The hybrid sighed and flopped over into her spot on the nest, “But we can’t really prove it’s not me, right?”

 

“You’re missing the point.”

 

Kit huffed and rolled over.

 

Kellan huffed back but decided not to press the matter anymore. He knew Kit wouldn’t stop thinking she was the cause of Zarkon finding them unless she had proof and trying to convince her without solid evidence would be like running in a circle and expecting to see something new. He mentally made a note to ask Coran if there was a way to test if Kit did have some kind of tracking spell on her.

 

When Nekko returned, they all settled down, Lance in the center with Nekko hugging him loosely on one side and Kellan on the other, wedging an arm under their heads as a pillow. Kit lay on Kell’s other side, pressing her back into his.

 

Kellan could feel the tension radiating off his sister and wrapped his unoccupied arm around her in an effort to offer comfort. It did little to ease Kit fears but Kellan still held her, hoping that Kit would be alright by the next day.

 

\--------------------------

 

Kellan knew something was amiss when he woke up and found Kit missing. The feeling only cemented further when everyone gathered on the main control deck and it was noticed Allura and Keith were MIA as well and there was a pod missing from the Castle.

 

Nekko growled under his breath, “Why would any of them do something like this? Keith, yeah I can see him doing this sort of thing, Kits a it of a stretch but she’s not in the best frame of mind right now. But Allura? Isn’t she supposed to be the equivalent of the Queen of this pack?”

 

“Calm down Nekko,” Kellan put a hand on Nekko’s shoulder. “Coran is hailing them and we should get an explanation soon and I doubt you sounding as mad as you do will not help matters.”

 

Nekko huffed and crossed his arms, “Thought Kit would have at least talked to one of us.”

 

“This is a bit different from most of what we have dealt with back home.”

 

“AH, there they are,” Coran called from the front of the room. “Princess, Keith, Kitsuna, where are you three?”

 

“Exactly where we should be,” Allura stated over the comm., as if she was stating a logical fact. “Far away from the castle.”

 

“Why?” Shiro asked.

 

“We must know if one of us is the one Zarkon is tracking.”

 

Pidge made a small humming sound, “Oh, you’re isolating the variables, well, two of them anyway.”

 

“I don’t much care what their doing,” Nekko growled. “You three better get back here right now.”

 

“Told you Nekko would be mad,” Kit’s voice piped up.

 

“Pidge is right,” Allura continued. “If Zarkon is able to find you despite our absence, we will know for sure weather or not he is tracking us.”

 

“Splitting up the group makes us far more valuables,” Shiro stated. “Come back to the Castle immediately.”

 

“I’m sorry Shiro,” Allura said. “But I cannot do that.”

 

“And if Zarkon finds you?” Nekko asked as he stalked over to the front of the room as if that would help is argument. “What then? Does that pod even have weapons?”

 

“I can pilot us to safety is Zarkon shows up here,” Keith said. “We’re in open space, plenty of room to maneuver. Plus, we can outrun him with the booster rocket Pidge added.”

 

“That thing is still on there?” Coran muttered is disbelief under his breath. Kellan almost didn’t pick it up so he doubted any of the humans in the room had.

 

“It doesn’t matter, you three need to come back here,” Nekko growled at the control panel.

 

“Hey Kell.”

 

Kellan’s ears twitched up at his sister’s voice, “Yes Kit?”

 

“On a scale of one to ten, how cross is squirt?”

 

“If I’m honest, his almost to a twelve.”

 

“I can hear you two,” Nekko huffed.

 

Shiro stood up slightly from his chair, clearly as displeased as Nekko was, “We need both of you back here right now!”

 

No sooner had Shiro finished his sentence the Castle jolted and the red alarms started to flash.

 

“What’s going on?” Shiro asked, sitting back down.

 

 “We’re in some kind of debris field,” Hunk answered as large rocks started zipping past the ship.

 

“I believe it’s coming from Taujeer,” Coran tapped at his control panel and brought up the main screen with an image of a brown and green planet that Kell assumed was Taujeer. “Correction: I think it is Taujeer!”

 

“Coran, what is going on-” Allura’s voice was cut short by a burst of static that made the Kellan’s ears flatten and Nekko wince.

 

Coran turned so that he could face the group, “Some kind of radiation is interfering with communications!”

 

Shiro stood up, “Move the Castle away and reestablish the link, everyone else to your lions.”

 

The Paladins ran off to collect their armor and lions, leaving the rest of them to reposition the Castle out of rage of the radiation interference.

 

The comm. crackled before Kit’s voice sounded through it, “Guys? Guys? What’s happening, is it Zarkon?”

 

“Not quite,” Kellan replied.

 

“Taujeer is emitting some kind of radiation that interferes with out communications,” Coran explained. “We’ve moved out of range while the Paladins investigate the planets surface.”

 

“Oh, phew,” Kit sighed in relief. “Thought you got in over your heads.”

 

“Never mind that, get back here already!” Nekko barked. “Shiro is right, we can’t split up. Especially with Zarkon on our tails!”

 

“We cannot-” Allura started to say but Kit interrupted.

 

“With all due respect princess, let me handle my little brother. Nekko, listen, all of us need to know. I know you’re mad that I didn’t talk this over with you and you’re probably mad at Keith and Allura for doing this too. But we have to do it, okay?”

 

“You have got to be kidd-”

 

“Are you at least wearing a suit of some kind?” Kellan asked, walking over to stand next to Coran and Nekko by the control panel.

 

“Yup,” Kit said with an edge of pride in her voice. “Allura even found a helmet that fits my ears somewhat. Not great but better then having them pressed down into my skull.”

 

Kellan nodded, “Keith, are you sure you can outrun Zarkon if he shows up?”

 

“Yes.” Keith answered, his voice firm and steady with confidence.

 

“Kell, you can’t be serious!” Nekko was actively projecting every bit of anger and worry in his being towards Kellan.

 

“It’s too late to stop them and nothing we say will make them come back,” Kellan projected comfort and assurance as he spoke, doing what he could to calm his brother. He looked back at the panel. “But if Zarkon does find you, you’re still coming back to the ship. We are a pack and a pack works together to overcome the odds.”

 

“While I appreciate the sentiment Kellan, I don’t think that would be a wise move,” Allura said.

 

Kit huffed a laugh, “But we might as well agree, or he’ll track us down and drag us back.”

 

“You bet I will,” Kellan said. “You three had better look after each other until you get back.”

 

“Will do,” Kit said.

 

Keith made a grunting sound of agreement while Allura sighed out an ‘alright’.

 

“Right then, check in if anything happens,” Coran said brightly before shutting off the communications.

 

Nekko growled and glared at Kellan.

 

“Don’t look at me like that Nekko, we both know arguing over it was pointless.”

 

“So you just up and went along with it!”

 

“I don’t agree with it but they need to do this, all we can do is be there for them in whatever why we can.”

 

Nekko’s tail lashed but he didn’t try to push the matter, he instead started to pace the length of the room.

 

“Does he do this often?” Coran asked.

 

Kell shrugged, “Mostly just with people he’s close with. He doesn’t like them being far away and the fact we can barely feel our bond with Kit doesn’t help.”

 

“Ah,” Coran nodded.

 

 

\--------------------------

 

Kellan had been tense through most of the battle, even when the Red Lion flew off and retrieved her Paladin and returned with Keith, Kit and Allura safely.

 

He only finally felt himself relax the Red Lion entered her hanger and Kit shakily stepped out, groaning about how the Lions needed passenger seats. Nekko had all but pounced on her, growling about how she should have never ran off in the middle of the night and if she ever did it again he was going to hand cuff them together. Kit laughed and petted Nekko’s ears, assuring him that she wouldn’t do run away on a space adventure without telling him again.

 

But the little escapade had proven one thing, that Keith, Allura and Kit were not the ones being tracked and the fact that the Red Lion had found Keith despite the large distance supported the idea that Zarkon was using his bond with the Black Lion to find them. The realization did little settle everyone’s nerves but Kellan was just happy everyone was back on the ship in once piece.

 

But the battle on Taujeer had brought something up in Kellan’s mind. He and Nekko had been next to useless in the fight and neither one of them liked watching from the sidelines while others risked themselves, especially when the said others were technically children and their pack-mates. But, unbelievably, the Galra had given him an idea to remedy that.

 

After everyone split off to recuperate, Kellan trailed after Coran, “Can I ask you something?”

 

Coran smiled brightly at him, “Of course!”

 

“Does the Castle have any fighter ships?”

 

Coran tugged at his mustache and hummed thoughtfully, “Now that you mention it there are a few in the lower hangers. But they were never given much use.”

 

“Do you think you can give my siblings and me few lessons on using them? So we can help out in battles that aren’t on planets.”

 

Coran blinked, “I’m…honestly not sure how that would work. Most pilots are trained for years before being put in the field.”

 

“We learn quickly and we managed to figure out how to pilot a Galra pod on our own. But if we continue to do nothing to help in the battles that are in the air it could drive one, if not all of us, up the wall.”

 

Coran still seemed a bit unsure, but nodded, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have a few more pilots in the air. Very well, I’ll help you and your siblings but I would like for you all to run through a simulator before hopping into the actual ship.”

 

“Thank you,” Kellan smiled. “I can speak for myself and my siblings in saying that we are very grateful.”

 

“Ah, think nothing of it, but we’ll have to start later. Have to attend to the Castle and all.”

 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Kell agreed. He offered a quick wave before moving on down the hall towards the kitchen. Food Goo was sounding pretty good at that moment to him after a day of worrying and battling on an empty stomach.

 

When he arrived, he found Kit absently eating her own plate of food.

 

“Hey,” Kell patted her shoulder as he passed. “How was your little runaway scheme?”

 

“Weird.”

 

Kell paused, ears twitching up in interest, “How so?”

 

Kit nodded and turned in her chair so she could look at Kellan, “Keith was talking about how all Galra might not be bad. And I thought, ‘yeah, that makes sense, Ulaz was a great guy and the Blade guys seem like a decent group’. Then Allura said that she wouldn’t trust anyone that has had ten-thousand years to overthrow Zarkon. Which I can kind of see her point but then again things are very rarely _that_ simple and it was a kind of jerk thing for her to say but the weirdest thing has to be Keith thinking Zarkon was tracking him. Allura I can kind of see that as a possibility, but Keith? Plus he was actively trying to shut me out of his mind and it kind of made me think that he knows something but doesn’t want to tell anyone, which is bad for a pack but I didn’t want to push it but I think it may be Galra related.”

 

“Huh, that is a weird trip,” Kell nodded as he got himself a plate and sat next to Kit. “And now that you mention it…yeah, that is weird that Keith would think he’s the one Zarkon was tracking.”

 

“I know!” Kit threw up her hands and waved them about. “And I want to ask him but the guy is so closed up about himself that I don’t want to make him uncomfortable and ruin our bond!”

 

“Just let him have space Kit. He may be a bit distant but he’s loyal and if he has something important to say he will tell in his own time.”

 

Kit huffed, displeased by the fact Kell was right and that Keith was locking her out. Kell had noticed some resistance in his own bond with Keith recently but had assumed it was just Keith being Keith.

 

But it couldn’t be helped and Kellan was content to wait for Keith to come to them rather then trying to force out an answer. So, he changed the subject, “I don’t think we can really judge Allura too harshly. She did lose her whole world to the Galra Empire and she harbors a deep seeded resentment towards them. But I do hope she’ll control her anger enough to build an alliance with the Blade of Marmora. Having people within Zarkons ranks will be a huge advantage to us.”

 

“Very true, very true,” Kit nodded in agreement. “Hope their not as mean as the Empire Galra.”

 

Kell shrugged and took a bite of his food. A part of him also hoped that the Balde members were at least a bit more decent then the others that they had encountered thus far, the only exception being Ulaz. He had no doubt that Nekko would pounce on anyone he thought crossed a line, weather it be with a sharp words or actually pouncing, “By the way, I talked with Coran and he said he’s going to give us a few piloting lessons so we can help out in space battles.”

 

“Wait, really?!” Kit jumped up, tail wagging and eyes shining. “You serious?”

 

“Very,” Kellan nodded. “Coran said that he’ll start us on a simulator when we have a free moment.”

 

“That’s awesome!”

 

“Knew you’d like that.”

 

Kit laughed and hugged Kell, “Finally! No more sitting in the Castle like a bunch of helpless pups! This is going to be awesome, I gotta tell Lance!”

 

Kellan chuckled as Kit ran off in search of the Blue Paladin.

**Author's Note:**

> Next part we have piloting lessons for three creatures that have next to no knowledge of aircrafts outside of basic steering....oh boy!


End file.
